atavistic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“Giant” is a probing character study that raises the discomfiting question of how a man of intelligence and imagination could hold such atavistic and pernicious views.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

“Parade,” which delves into antisemitism, systemic bias in our judicial system and the power of a wily demagogue to stoke atavistic hatred for self-gain, has a disconcerting timeliness.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2025

The new film’s greatest creation, though, was Rutger Hauer’s atavistic replicant Roy Batty, a dissident being hunted by Ford’s titular character, Rick Deckard.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2022

But many women called it a put-down, an atavistic reaction to the feminist movement.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 22, 2021

Her palm lines do not branch into head, heart, and life lines like other people’s but crease with just one atavistic fold.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston